Trailer Analysis

Snatch Trailer

In the trailer for snatch the use of non-diegetic music is consistent, yet there are two different songs, which are used. The first song is very fast which reflects the theme of action and builds the tension.  

The opening shot is of a man wearing a vest full of guns and we, as the audience, can immediately categories the genre because of the props being used. It is a common convention for this genre of film that the opening shot immediately drops the audience into the middle of the action. This is a good way of showing off the conventional props, in this case the guns, and we will be able to take this idea and reflect it in our own way into our work.

  I like the use of the low angle shot when Vinnie Jones opens the boot of the car as it expresses his aggressive characteristics; it also portrays him as a stereotypical character to this genre as the ultimate bosses tend to have tall intimidating, hostile looking men do their physical work for them. As the angle is positioned facing up it makes him look superior and dominant and as the audience we feel a little vulnerable looking up at him. I really like the idea of the camera being place into the trunk of the car and think this idea would work especially well in our film trailer we would also be able to manipulate and edit this specific clip for example adding a transition to make it look as if the camera is someone opening their eyes etc.

In the trailer there is a two person close up of the actors Jason Statham and Stephen Graham with an anguished look on their face which is another typical convention in a Gangster & Crime genre allowing the audience to know something has gone wrong and their lives are going to take a turn for the worse.  I really like this specific shot as it has a comical factor to it and takes away the harsh edge of the genre by putting a twist onto it, i also like the way its a two person shot and would very much like to, again, reflect this idea into our film trailer as it sends a message out to the audience, that something has gone wrong, without having to go into detail to explain it keeping to the timings of the trailer yet skills explaining the story line.

There is also a mid shot of Brad Pitt which shows the lower class which is also a typical convention in a Gangster & Crime film. The main focus is on the ring leader, Brad Pitt, who is backed up with the unknown factor of his gang; again this genre of film stereotypically represents different social classes/groups. This shot enables the audience to get a clear understanding of the dividers in the socials groups and i think we need to be really strickt on our costume to ensure we are portraying the correct and appropriate social classes.

  

In my opinion this is a very clever POV shot which shows off the cards in a high stakes game to the audience. This represents the class of the character and shows his skills when it comes to a card game as he has 3 Jacks. The audiences attention is purposely drawn to the cards as the lighting is relatively dark, the mise-en-scene is also fairly simple again emphasising the cards, as the actor is wearing sunglasses is conveys a mysterious vibe. I would really like to use a shot like this in our trailer as again you would be able to play around with it when it comes to editing such as using a focus pull or even manipulating the image itself to add emphasis to it or possibly a zoom effect.

 The music then changes to a Wild West sounding song, which again makes the pace even faster and reflects the tension, this then leads on to the characters being introduced. There is a range of different characters and a majority of them are in suits, the men in suits are the people who are after the 86-carat diamond so almost as if it’s a race to see who can get it first.

  The props used in snatch play a vital part, there is a use of guns and violent fighting scenes, which doesn’t give it a ‘family feel’ at all therefore this determines the target audience which will be the same as our, boys/men ages 18-30 but also attracting a female audience due to the good looking actors. As Snatch is a British Gangster film there are a variety of different gangs for example the gangs after the diamond include Avi and his gang, Brick top and his gang, two boxing promoters and a Russian.  The generic conventions you see in Snatch are guns, diamonds, betting cards, fighting and men in suits.

  This particular trailer has a clip that interlinks two clips this includes an effect to make it look as if the camera has zoomed in particularly quickly. This adds a faster pace to the clips building the excitement and making the audience want to go and see the film, it also compliments the music well.  This is a British Gangster film therefore it contains lots of action with a variety of gangs whereas American films focus on the story of one gang and their rise to power.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Trailer

 The trailer for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has non-diegetic music running consistently throughout like the Snatch trailer yet this particular trailer consists of four different songs. The music begins relatively slow whilst the main groups of four friends are all being introduced the music begins relaxed and slow as it is a representation of the events currently taking place, it also portrays the first impressions of the characters yet the audience are aware there is more to come. The music then changes at a card game to a fast pace which reflects the tension and creates a buildup portraying the importance of the card game. The sound of the card being put down has purposely been exaggerated again straining the apprehension. The music again changes to something more high pitched foreshadowing the ghastly events which are about to take place.  The music then changes to an upbeat song complimenting the events taking place and insinuating they make be able to get the money they lost back. The upbeat song also reflects the violence in the film and is a typical convention of a Gangster & Crime genre. One of the characters then says ‘were on’ and again the music changes to reflect their celebration and success.

  As the audience we then see the generic conventions of the Gangster genre such as drugs, money, alcohol, suits, women, guns and cars. The clips start off being relatively long as they are introducing the characters making them feel as if they are in control until they lose the card game and the clips then shorten. There isn’t any fade transitions used between clips; this ensures the cuts are fast. Like Snatch there are lots of people after one item, in this case it is the money, yet you are aware of which group you are following. Again this is a British Gangster film so it is packed with action and has a range of different gangs.

 This title shot is relatively powerful as it is in a vivid yellow bold font. The background also plays a vital part as it consists of the typical conventions such as bullets from a gun, this portrays a connotation of death, violence and danger which are all included in this film. I'm really fond of the way this title is really simple drawing the audiences entire attention to the title, i also like the use of yellow as it is an extremely eye-catching colour and isn't typically red.

 This clip of the film shows a credit which is explaining a specific event which is taking place in the film, almost labelling the prop being filmed. The bold red font also highlights the fact that the money is a key element in the film, the use of red font is also interesting as red is symbolic for blood and death. The background of this clip plays a vital part as it is piles of money it could connote high risks either involving the law or other gangsters etc. This would be a good technique to portray in our trailer as it takes away the harsh edge of the genre.

 This extreme closeup immediately informs the audience there is violence to come and the gun is symbolic of this and shows the audience they are dangerous. This media convention is often used in Gangster trailers to excite the target audience and make them want to see the film. I would like to use close ups in our trailer as i think it would be a good shot to include into fast cuts, i also think it gives the genre away incredibly well and means our trailer would include a variety of differnt shots and angles.

 This particular shot portrays the genre of the film extremely well as the intermediating man is on his knees with his hands up and in danger. The guns gives off a huge representation of the film and the clothes worn also represent not only the time era but also the social class of the men. This would be a good shot and angle to use as it enables the audience to know what is going on and who has the authority at the time of the event. The clothing will play a vital part in our film trailer.

The agressive expressions on the actors face and the kewlerry he is wearing is sterotypical representations of a 'gangster'. This particular shot also expresses the motion of the punch about to be thrown refelcting his dangerous characteristics, typical for this genre. The camera angle is low making him look intimidating and whoever he is punching to be vulnerable portraying his strength to the audience. I like the way the camera angle has been used to emphasis his movement and would very much like to reflect this in my own work.



This low angled shot represents the character as being the holder of power, intimidating and strong, shots like these are often used in this genre as the audience will be fully aware of who has control at which times and who is vulnerable. This shot also shows off the conventional props for example in this picture it is the gun, although it has been blurred on the camer we, as the audience, are still aware of what weapon he is holding yet our main focus is on the man. This would be an ideal camera angle to use in our film as again it adds to the variety and also shows off the conventional props, a shot like this would also be ideal when it comes to editing as we would be able to manipulate it such as adding a focus pull etc.

Film Magazine Research

This cover of Empire magazine clearly has a them of 'X-Men' as 'Wolverine' is the central focus. The masterhead of this magazine 'EMPIRE' is situated in the top quarter of the magazine cover, its use of bold red font not only emphasises the theme but makes it a main focus point drawing in all the initial attention, it also juxtaposes with the dark background. The centre of the masterhead is partially covered by the image of 'Wolverine' yet it is still readable which shows the magazine already has a well established readership.

  In my opinion the magazine appears to be relatively cluttered with a variety of writing yet if you look closely it is actually separated with thin white lines almost as if they are boarders. The selling line it 'THE WORLDS BIGGEST MOVIE MAGAZINE' which gives the audience the impression that the magazine consists of different information regarding films and genres. At the very top of the magazine it says 'Wolverine has returned for...' the name 'Wolverine' is displayed in a larger font than the rest of the tag line, this makes it incredibly eye-catching as it emphasises its importance.

  The picture of 'Wolverine' that is featured on the front cover looks as if it has been taken from the film with an impressive background complimenting the main character. The background is a good choice as not only does it contrast with the title but it also allows the white and black fonts to be seen. On this specific magazine cover the main character is featuring as their character/stage name, the main character has blades appearing from his knuckles and big muscles, his stance and facial expressions also show that he is ready for action which is a real give away of the genre. This picture of "Wolverine" is an example of the intra-diegetic gaze as he is not looking out towards the reader but seems to be looking at something behind it above the audience.

  On the right hand side of the cover there are 4 cover lines in black and white font and have white lines separating them. The cover lines on the left hand side appear to be bigger than the ones on the right this is because the ones on the left need to be visible to attract the attention of readers when it is in shops and competing with other magazines. On the left hand side of the magazine there is also 4 cover lines yet although they use the same font as the ones on the right these are larger. Again these also vary between black and white with the white lines separating them, the colour scheme is kept consistent to make the front cover more appealing and eye-catching ensure the audience will be influenced to pick it up and be interested.

  Finally the date and price is placed in between the 'M' of the title in small white writing, this is perfectly clear however it is not the most important piece of information the other typical conventions include the issue date, issue number and bar code, empire also advertise their own website under the title. Overall I am really fond of how 'EMPIRE' layout their magazines, I like the fact the actor on the front is able to cover some of the letters from the title and the simple colour scheme. I think that the red masterhead would relate to our genre well as it is symbolic for death and danger the use of red and black would also compliment our ideas well as we are keen on the idea of using silhouettes so they limited colour palette would work well as magazines tend to use three different colours. I would also like to use a variety of different sized font yet keep the font style consistent so the magazine looks professional, I am unsure on how the group and I want the stance of our main character to be and how and where we want them to be looking yet we must portray an element of mystery.

The front cover of a film magazine is primarily used to market current films. 'Total Film' has wisely chosen to feature Megan Fox to advertise the film 'Jennifer's Body'. After looking at the picture in more detail you are aware of the blood dripping from

her right hand. Like the 'EMPIRE' magazine she is also posing as her character, we are able to tell this from the mise-en-scene as she is wearing a cheerleaders outfit that shows a lot of flesh, attracting the male gaze. I also thought that Megan Fox's stance was very powerful as she is looking directly at the camera which could appear intimidating to some; this is a great example of a direct address (extra-diegetic) as she is looking out of the frame straight at the reader.

  The masterhead of the magazine 'TOTAL FILM' is partially covered up which again indicates that the magazine is well established with its readers, the master head covers around a quarter of the page and is situated in the top 3rd giving it more recognition when

on the shelf. The three main colours on this issue are red, white and blue with some use of black. The white almost acts as a canvas to place the storylines over and the use of vivid red contrasts well making it stand out to the audience. Red, white and blue also happen to be the colours of the American flag. I would very much like to use this technique in my own work so the colours also symbolise a specific mise-en-scene as well as representing the theme for example using red, black and blue to symbolise violence and injury or even red, white and black to symbolise the gangsters attire etc. which is something we can look into.

  The magazine selling line is 'OUR BIGGEST PREVIEW EVER' the bold sans-serif font enables the selling line to stand out due to its boldness and as 'BIGGEST' is in a different colour it draws in the audiences attention even more so making them feel as if this magazine is something they definitely don’t want to miss out on. The top right hand corner shows 3 images of films that are featured within the magazine. The images are placed in individual grey boxes which have been manipulated to appear in different angles making it more appealing to the eye. On the left hand side of the magazine there is an arrow that is pointing directly at Megan Fox which is made up of the consistent colour scheme being grey blue and white, the arrow has 'THE FUTURE 100' written across it in American football style writing which conforms well with Megan Fox's cheerleading outfit. Large numbers have been used all over the cover: 100, 59, 53, 94, and 128 this creates the illusion that the magazine is full. 'PLUS' also stands out well as not only is it positioned on a space white canvas yet it is also the same colour as the masterhead and of a similar font.

  The issue number, date, price and magazine web address are positioned between the top of the 'M' similar to the layout used on 'EMPIRE'. The web address is the largest of these and reaffirms the name of the magazine. The bar code is situated in the bottom right hand corner and is possibly the least important thing on the cover. By analysing this magazine cover I have learnt that keeping it simple is really effective and makes the reader want to read all of the information on the cover, I was also really fond of the way the word 'PLUS' was in the same colour as the masterhead and the use of the other 3 picture previews of films. Although I am not aware of this particular film it is not the same genre of our yet I was really fond of the subtle use of blood which as a member of the audience I didn’t recognise at first. I also admired the way the font in the arrow related to the font of Megan Fox's top so there was some kind of relation throughout the magazine cover.

'The Gaze'

Theorists have identified a number of different forms of 'The Gaze' not only in film but also photography, television and forms of art.

- The direct address (or extra-diegetic) to the viewer: the gaze of a person (animal or object) shown in the text looking ‘out of the frame’ as if at the person watching the film or reading the magazine.

- The intra-diegetic gaze: a gaze of one person (animal or object) at another within the world of the text - this is often portrayed as a point of view shot in film and television.

- The spectator’s gaze: the gaze of the viewer at an image of a person (animal or object) in the text.

- The look of the camera - the way that the camera itself appears to look at the people pictured.



Jonathan Schroeder states ' to gaze implies more than to look at - it signifies a psychological relationship of power in which the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze' and 'Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view' The media constructs the actor's/actress's body position for the pleasure of the audience. Often this is in a sexual manner as people feel less ashamed of doing so in a cinema as the people surrounding them are not aware it is happening.

The Gaze on British Women’s Magazines:

Chocolate Box: half or full-smile, lips together or slightly parted, teeth barely visible, full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality.

Invitational: emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to one side or looking back to camera. Projected mood: suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising’s soft sell.

Super-smiler: full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown back, hair often wind-blown. Projected mood: aggressive, ‘look-at-me’ demanding, the hard sell, ‘big come-on’ approach.

Romantic or Sexual: a fourth and more general classification created to include male and female ‘two-somes’; or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the overtly sensual or sexual. Projected moods: possible ‘available’ and definitely ‘available’.

 

Male Facial Expressions in Women’s Ads:

There are fairly direct parallels with the above - the carefree, practical, seductive, comic and catalogue. The other two male expressions selected as types - the thoughtful and the self-reliant - have similarities to the female introverted and cool, though the thoughtful is far less introverted and the self-reliant more smug than aloof or reserved, but there are no counterparts to the narcissistic or kitten like.

This research will definitely help my group and I determine exactly how we want our actor to look on the front cover and we will be able to adjust his stance by reflecting back on this information. We do not want our actor to look innocent or sexual we want him to look quite the opposite and to come across as being tough and someone not to be messed with so the majority of male expressions I have stated will be avoided yet this information was still of use as we know what not to use and where we should be heading to get the appropriate outcome. The aim of the magazine will be for it to be sold so we will have to go for a carefree yet practical look and inject a smug effect to portray the characters attributes and role in the film. I also think it would be good to use the direct address (or extra-diegetic) to the viewer for it to come across as being almost intimidating to reflect our genre and make it really effective.

Coursework Discussion 5 - 23rd November

As the past few lessons we have been splitting up in order to divide the tasks we thought it would be a good idea if we were to work together today. We mainly focused on developing our music for the trailer, although this proved to be quite challenging considering we are unaware of a definite trailer structure therefore we made a rough version so we would later be able to come back to it to edit and add to if necessary. We gained a lot of inspiration from the song used in the trailer of 'Public enemies' by 'Otis Taylor - Million Slaves' We needed to ensure our soundtrack was relatively upbeat and pacey to reflect the theme. We also made a list of blogs we needed to do so we were up to date as a group, to ensure there is no confusion or conflict and also blogs we need to do in the future such as looking into our target audience and determining a specific group, we could back up these results by creating and sending out a questionnaire.

Coursework Discussion 4 - 21st November

As a group we learnt about magazine front covers which was a great chance for us to pick up ticks and take note of the 'do's' and 'don'ts'.  We also gained knowledge of what the general focus needs to be for example, the main characters of the films, usually there is never more than one person on the front cover which we will have to put a lot of though and effort into creating as we are hoping to have 5-6 gangsters but stereotypically in groups there is a leader, who will be our main character.This proved to be really helpful and we were able to take ideas away with us and conform them to our own. We then as a group looked into a number of different magazines covers so we were able to get an idea of an appropriate title and layout. 'Empire' magazine specifically caught our eye as we found the bold red font emphasised the genre of our film, especially as red is symbolic for death.

V for Vendetta - Film Narrative Presentation

As a group we had to do a presentation of the narrative in the film V for Vendetta, I focused on the Levi Strauss Theory

Typical Gangster Plot

Typical Crime and Gangster films are established around their sinister actions of criminals, usually they are seen breaking the law through violent and ruthless behaviour murdering their way through life so they are able to achieve their goals. this specific genre often highlight the life of a crime figure or their victims.Often they glorify the rise and fall of a specific criminals typically gangs, bank robbers, murderers and lawbreakers experiencing personal power struggles or conflict with law and order figures, a competitive colleague, or a rival gang etc. Typical roles in this genre consist of crime reporters or real life gangsters to create headline-grabbing situations. The usual settings are locations such as large crowded cities which provide a view of the secret world for a criminal gangster. Streets with neon signs and dark nightclubs also tend to be stereotypical along with fast cars, stacks of money, contraband, big houses or seeding living conditions. 

  Stereotypical gangsters tend to be street smart, immoral, materialistic, megalomaniacal, and self-destructive. A significant gangster plot characteristic is rivalry with other criminals in gangster warfare. Crime plots typically include questions, for example how the criminal will be apprehended by police, special agents or lawful authorities, or mysteries such as who stole the valued object or who slaughtered the victim and how. They rise to power with a tough cruel facade yet show an ambitious desire for success and recognition, although underneath they can express sensitivity and gentleness. The background of a gangster is usually poor immigrant families meaning gangster characters often fall prey to crime in the pursuit of wealth, status, and material possessions such as clothes and cars as their normal avenues to the top are unavailable to them. Although they are doomed to failure and inevitable to a violent death, criminals can sometimes be portrayed as the victims of circumstance, as the stories are told from their point of view. 

Typical Gangster Clothing

Our earliest film being ‘The Godfather’ released in 1972,  we thought it would work to our advantage if we did some research on the background, specifically the 1950’s, of where the typical gangster clothing originated from so we were able to not only get a better understanding but also reflect this into our own work. In the 1950’s Gangsters were often features on Television and in films which made their distinctive fashion well known. However, most Gangsters in the 1950’s portrayed an image of a stereotypical business man because of their formal attire. Typical gangster clothing was extremely similar to the usual outfit worn by a large majority of men in the 50’s enabling them to blend in. This kind of outfit consisted of included a slim-fitting suit, fedora and a skinny tie with a simple design.

Fedora

In the 1950s, men's fashion was dominated by conformity. A distinguishing feature of gangsters in the 1950s was their hats, which was commonly known as a fedora. The gangster fedora originated in the 1930s and came in a range of colours. Gangsters were looked upon negatively and stereotyped as thieves and murders; yet a majority of gangsters conveyed an image of a typical businessman because of their formal attire.

Skinny Necktie

Another distinctive feature of gangsters in the 1950s was the skinny necktie. The 40s and 50s was a brilliant time in history for the classic necktie, especially for fashion aficionados or men with money. However, there was much advancement in the men's necktie, which became an essential for the '50s gangster. Men acted and dressed less conservatively after WW II so tie designers were able to expand their necktie lines. In the late '50s, ties became very narrow and were decorated with simple designs. Many gangsters wore the skinny up until the early '60s when neckties became wider and more colourful.

Slimmer Suits

In the 1950s gangsters dressed very similar to the common businessman, not only because of their fedora, but also because they wore suits. The style of men’s suits in the '50s remained conservative and didn’t change an awful lot from the '40s styles. Suit trousers typically hid the cuffs and normally the pleats. The suit jackets were much slimmer than they are today and classically had two to four buttons. Wool was one of the most popular fabrics used for suits, while sharkskin was sometimes worn by wealthier men. Usually the suits were sold and paired with a fedora style hat and a skinny tie.

Coursework Discussion 3 - 18th November

We again chose to separate the roles within the group to enable us to finish all the work we set ourselves to do. This meant that 2 members of the group had a chance to catch up on and finish their outstanding posts on their blogs and the other 2 of us researched into the background behind typical gangster clothing, for example what it consisted of and where it originated from. We found this to be extremely helpful as we were able to see which films, specifically ones we we had researched into, conformed to the typical mise-en-scene and how we would reflect this specific, yet typical, costume in our own trailer. As we were struggling to get a clear idea of what we wanted our trailer to consist of we thought it would be helpful to look into typical gangster plots and what they consisted of so we had something to relate back to and use almost like a template that we were able to add to. We also researched into the plots from The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs and Public Enemies for additional help as these were the films that initially caught our eye. We also attempted to developed the music we had started to make for our trailer using garage band but found it slightly difficult to get the right beat without having a clear idea of what our trailer is going to actually consist of therefore we have made it a priority to come up with some good ideas for our trailer. To make our ideas all come together we brainstormed them all down onto a piece of paper so we were able to get a rough idea of exactly what we wanted and how we would fit it all together.

Coursework Discussion 2 - 16th November

After giving our initial theme, being Romance, serious thought inside and outside of school we came to the conclusion that it was a little too advanced for us and that we may not enjoy it a great deal when it comes to filming, therefore we improvised and looked into different genres that we all shared interest in, this being a gangster film. We found that this theme would be much more beneficial when it comes to editing and creating a film poster etc and we were already flowing with creative ideas and found that we were able to explore the breadth of our imagination more so regarding this specific genre. We realized that thinking ahead about how we are going to write about our specific choices such as Mise-en-scene, music and location etc. would come together a lot better if we offered something a little different as well as enjoyable and upbeat. We agreed that the location wouldn’t be a problem if we were to do a gangster film as they are usually set in gritty places such as ally ways and garages so this was appropriately accessible. We came to the agreement that a Gangster & Crime genre would be easier to write about such as the lighting, stereotypes, costume and props etc. Overall I am confident that this genre will be a lot more beneficially to us as a group as we are all determined and inspired to excel and succeed.

 Today we chose to divide the different tasks as it would be a lot less time consuming if we undertook the task we had most expertise in. In my opinion our communication was exceptionally good in terms of asking one another their opinions asking for advice and sharing ideas to ensure there would be no disagreements in the long run. We looked into different film posters such as:

'Casino Royale' - To me this poster is incredibly effective as it sums up the genre and narrative of the film.

I am particularly draw to the dim lighting of the poster as it almost foreshadows ‘Bonds’ characteristics which isn’t the typical conventions of a Bond film which challenges the audiences knowledge. The attractive male on the front cover almost steers away from the target audience, being men, and attracts the women to go and see the film this is a technique I am particularly fond of as it ensures all types of audience can feel involved. I admire the way the background id blurred emphasising the main character yet the Mise-en-scene remains obvious as the props are still visible in order for the genre of the theme to continue to be obvious. The positioning of James Bonds hand resting on the gun also suggests that he is ready for action, looking fierce.  I like the way the use of the diluted colours is consistent and there is no need for bright colours to make it appealing. Although the title is relatively subtle in regards to the choice of colour, the editing techniques adds a sense of movement which I am fond of.

 'Reservoir Dogs' - Is my favourite poster as I am hugely inspired by the use of  silhouettes in this specific film poster as the black and white block colours create a film noir style and juxtapose fantastically well with the splash of vivid red behind the title, not only does this use of colour immediately symbolise blood, hate and vengeance drawing attention to the title in order for the audience to remember it but also has elements of action and thriller. Although this poster is very plain i feel as if it is massively effective and would love to reflect this in my own work as it is incredibly striking, i also feel as if we have the ability to achieve a poster like this when it comes to taking the picture and editing it.

'Snatch' - We had the idea of giving each one of our 'gangsters' a nick name to conform with the typical Gangster & Crime genre as well as create a sense of dark humour, we were able to relate our idea with this poster in particular as you can see each actor has their nick name written above them. I really liked the way the nicknames looked as if they had been written on instead of the use of computerised font. The colour palette used for the actors is a sepia tone which contrasts well with the white background. I love the way the decaying colours identify the specific genre of the film being, action and would very much like to portray this in my work by experimenting with a variety of colours and effects.

'The Godfather' - This was particularly appealing to me as again I am incredibly fond of juxtaposing the colours black and white as I think the outcome is a success. What really caught my eye in this poster is the red rose in 'Donny's' pocket as again the colour red is incredibly symbolic in relation to death, vengeance and also love. Again the use of the silhouette in this poster particularly interests me as it is typical for a gangster film. I found the puppet effect on the title to be extremely interesting as it almost foreshadows oncoming events as well adding to the decorative side of things.

‘This is England’- As this is one of my favourite films I find it to be extremely inspirational, although this film isn’t the genre we are going for the poster still caught my eye. I was particularly a fan of how all the actors are positioned in a line each pulling a different pose to portray their own individual personalities, I also like the way the Mise-en-scene relates to the time era it is set in. I liked the way the bright colours were used in contrast with the dark mood that is set throughout the film and how the colours match the costumes used.

‘Trainspotting’ – I like the use of the bright orange in contrast with the black and white images of the characters. What inspired me most about this particular image was how the actors are positioned as each one is pulling a different pose, like This is England, it says a lot about the character and certain attributes shine through, I was also a fan of how each character was numbered with their names also almost as if they were criminals.

By looking at proficient posters it has enabled us to grasp inspiration from all different kinds of posters ans a small variety of genres. As well as film posters we also looked into magazine covers specifically 'Empire' and 'Rolling Stone' so we were able to build upon our knowledge of what we should be aiming for. Specifically what we should be including on our front cover and ensuring the title and font is relevant to our theme.

Not only am i really impressed with the work we have done so far such as choosing an appropriate theme, looking into film posters and magazines to gain inspiration but also learning how and where to approach copyright free music. We were also taught how to create our own unique sounds using 'Garage Band' this enabled us to create an appropriate sound in relation to our film.

Coursework Discussion 1 - 14th November

On the 14^th November we brainstormed in the group which genre we were all happy to base our trailer, poster and film magazine on, although we found it difficult to  make we managed to form together a rough idea.

  To begin with we researched into a variety of trailers such as 500 Days of Summer, P.S I Love You and The Notebook etc as we found them to be inspirational and we were set on doing a genre with a hybrid of Romance/Drama. We were particularly fond of the idea regarding, slow pace cuts, the non-diegetic music, a voice over  and particularly flashbacks yet we thought it would give too much of the linear plot away. We had strong ideas on the specific Mise-en-scene such as the stereotypical attractive boy and girl, preferably a blonde skinny very striking teenage girl as this would draw in a specific target audience which was young girls and woman as Romance films are usually regarded to be a ‘chick flick’ and less appealing to men. We also wanted a dark haired, tall, good looking boy to attract the target audience as well as fit in with the typical conventions of the genre. We found this to be a challenge as we gave it more thought and our biggest obstruction was finding the appropriate actors to conform to our genre. Although we had vague ideas on the location we originally wanted to film in London, specifically at Hyde Park, Oxford Street, Regent Street and around the west end, our reasoning behind this was that we are approaching the Christmas season and the decorative Christmas lights would have complimented the theme of our trailer exceptionally well. Although the more we thought about our theme the more doubts we had building and we worried that some of our ideas may not have been realistic, for example would we really manage to get ourselves as well as our actors to travel to London? Lighting was also an issue as Romance films use various lighting to conceal blemishes on the actress’ face which adds to the effect which reinforces romance. The weather was also an issue as it is getting rapidly darker in the evenings our time for filming would be limited and we would most probably have to make more than one trip up  to London which was a problem regarding cost. I feel as if we may have rushed into making a decision instead of taking into consideration the finer details as well as the vital aspects.

  As it is vital that we think ahead so we are able to later write about our specific choices and decisions we found that a Romance may not be the right choice of genre for our group. We realised the importance of planning in addition to the preparation procedure and noticed that we needed to apply more thought and come up with something that was a lot more beneficial so we were able to put more time and effort into a more upbeat genre that we particularly enjoyed and were thoroughly inspired by therefore we arranged to give it additional thought until our next meeting.

500 Days of Summer Film Poster

Whilst I was researching film posters I chose to go for the genre that really grasps my attention and also features one of my favourite films being, 500 Days of Summer. As the audience the title of the film doesn’t quite reveal the targeted genre leaving the target audience unspecific. When I was finding the film poster I came across that there was more than 1 poster which is a clever technique used to interested more than once specific group of audience.

The first poster I came across was the one above, in my opinion it focuses more on the female audience as the main focus point is a ‘cute’ man which is a typical stereotypical appearance used in a chick flick/romantic film. Although it could also attract men because of the use of colour being blue, this draws the attention away from it being a typical chick flick therefore it may be a little more appealing to men than competitive chick flick films. This poster immediately gives the audience symptoms and expectations about the content and style of text according to its genre. Although the background isn’t a typical colour used for a ‘chick flick’ the blue colourings suggest certain coldness and possibly foreshadow a sad conclusion but on the other hand pleasure may be drawn from differences. The title of the film, which looks as if it is printed on the man’s t-shirt, is also blue this keeps the colour palette simple and emphasises the attention drawn to the main focus being the man. The pictures which also look as if they have been printed on his t-shirt give the audience an insight to the content of the film and give a taste of the events taking place and the actors/actresses featured in the film. By doing this is could increase the interest of the audience as well as targeted a specific group, mainly girls. This leads on to my next point of the actor and actress’ name also being a main focus o the t-shirt as the audience interested in this particular film could also be a fan of these actors which would make them more inclined to watch the film.

  The quote on the right hand side of the poster from a Radio 1 presenter makes the poster more eye-catching, not only does the bold white font draw your attention to the quote but also the 4 stars beneath it which is a familiar icon informing you, as the audience, it has more than a good rating. If you are the targeted audience the four stars alone would be a big influence to enable you to want to see the film. Although all the elements I have spoken about above suggest the film has the typical conventions of a chick flick the other snippet of text on the bottom right hand side gives a slight twist to the genre, typically in all chick flicks the boy and girl eventually fall in love and live happily ever after but here it clearly states they don’t fall in love, easily. This gives the audience unexpected pleasure and an anticipation to want to see the film. The billing block, which has to be present on a film poster, is in the bottom right hand corner giving additional information such as the names of the producers etc which the audience rarely read but it may be useful at times.

This is the second poster I came across whilst researching into 500 Days of Summer, this immediately caught my attention and gave off the impression it is a conventional chick flick, I immediately came to this conclusion because of the soft colours that had been used giving off a calming and warming vibe. The positioning of the two main characters also gives away the genre of the film as it shows their closeness and relationship, which is exactly what the target audiences will be looking out for. This poster again has the names of both the main actors. Surprisingly the title isn’t in striking colours, yet it still draws the audience’s attention due to the bold font. The billing board is also in the bottom right hand corner of this film poster but is a lot more lighter than the previous one almost impossible to see. The conventions of a typical chick flick are consistent as the mise en scene also suggests a typical cliché, for example the boy looks as if he is subtly geeky as he is wearing reasonably smart trousers, a shirt and a woolly tank top stereotyping him to be a ‘nobody’ where as the girl, Summer, looks attractive in a cute light blue bow dress yet she also looks a little geeky but almost uninterested in her facial expressions, although smiling, she is looking away from the camera and the boy perhaps a way to foreshadow such events. We get the impression that the characters are both a little quirky we have knowledge of this for example, take a typical James Bond film Bond himself usually wears a tuxedo which fits in with his stereotype of being extremely masculine, powerful and stylish then Bond girls usually wear elegant long red or black dresses with glamorous jewellery and makeup which shows their level of power and beauty. This is a good comparison to make as it defines the genre of the film and applies the appearance to a specific target audience, in this case it would be females.

The final poster I researched into was the antithesis to the other two posters I commented on. The most obvious different was the use of bright colours, the yellow star shape behind the title not only drew the audience to the name of the film but also emphasised the picture collaged behind it. This poster seems a lot more crowded and busy than the other two which remained very simple yet subtle. It not only used colour and images but also symbols and texts to make it more eye-catching. In my opinion this film poster focuses on the target audience of both men and women but can be more appealing to men than the other two posters I looked into. I came to this conclusion because without taking a closer look at the pictures in the background it doesn’t give off the vibe of being a typical rom-com/chick flick. The use of vivid colour also draws the male attention and the caption states ‘This is not a love story. This is a story about love’ which almost foreshadows the content taking away the typical rom-com/chick flick ending. Again the billing block is on the bottom right hand corner which is the brightest of them all almost impossible to see.